A mom was diagnosed with cancer after doctors initially dismissed her symptoms as being stress or hormones.
Libby Woolaston began dealing with relentless, severe headaches during the summer of 2024. When she sought medical advice, she says she was repeatedly reassured that it was down to everyday pressures, including ‘stress caused by her kids’.
Her condition continued to deteriorate while she waited for a hospital appointment, and she even lost sight in one eye during that time.
The 32-year-old, from Wolverhampton in the UK, was later told she had an atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumour — a rare form of brain cancer that is most often diagnosed in children under the age of three.
Libby said: “I felt completely ignored for months, no-one was listening to me. I knew something wasn’t right, but I kept being told it was hormones, stress or depression.”
According to the mom-of-three, three different doctors suggested her symptoms were hormonal or stress-related, rather than something more serious.
“One doctor even asked me if I had children and said: ‘Do you not think it’s just your children giving you a headache?'” she said.
As the headaches intensified, Libby said she reached a point where coping became nearly impossible.
Libby said that the pain became ‘unbearable’, and she was resorting to ‘taking painkiller after painkiller just to try and function day‑to‑day’.
“I couldn’t be the mum I wanted to be, and my quality of life was awful,” she said.
She then underwent a demanding four-hour operation to remove a tumour from her pituitary gland — a deep area of the brain — in a procedure carried out through her nose.
Following surgery, she also had a lumbar puncture (spinal tap), alongside rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy as part of her treatment plan.
The treatment ultimately worked, and Libby was confirmed to be cancer free in February 2026.
“Now I see life very differently,” she said. “I appreciate every single day I get to spend with my family.”
She is now encouraging others to get symptoms assessed and to keep pressing for clarity if they feel something is wrong.
“I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did, so I would urge people not to ignore their symptoms,” she said.
“Trust your instincts and don’t be afraid to push for answers – you deserve to be taken seriously.”
Libby is continuing to be monitored with scans every three months, and she says the vision in her right eye has also returned.
While she has chosen not to pursue legal action, she plans to walk 200km to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research.
Letty Greenfield is a community fundraising manager for the charity, and said: “Libby’s story highlights the devastating impact brain tumours can have, as well as the urgent need for greater awareness and investment in research.”